Does Vandy have rich, white, preppy frat boys and sorority girls? Yes. Does Vandy have self-segregation? Yes. I understand where your notions about Vanderbilt stereotypes are coming from. I’ve seen a LOT of negative things about Vandy written on this forum, and I cannot say all of them are untrue and that Vandy is this perfect college with no problems.
I am an international student at Vandy, thousands of miles away from home, but Vandy has truly become a second home for me. You will find stereotypical people at every college, Vandy too, but most people here are warm and welcoming, even if they are rich, preppy frat boys or sorority girls. Most Vandy students are passionate and hard-working, and I really don’t see the work hard, play hard culture as detrimental. It also does not mean that everyone’s idea of having fun is the same. Some people like to go to frat parties, while some people might prefer to go downtown to listen to the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. Some like to do both.
Again, I know where your idea of Vanderbilt being superficial stems from, but if you join student organizations, form study groups, and participate in your hall/house events, you will get to know your peers more meaningfully. Vanderbilt attracts people from all parts of the US and the world, and that makes for a very enriching learning and social experience. Yes, sometimes small talk and superficial interactions may seem frustrating, but if you are willing to put yourself out there and take the time to reach out to people, you will find a very dynamic community of friends here.
You can easily be a rich frat boy and still be a part of multicultural events. You can be a ‘top tier’ sorority girl, but still be an engineering student involved in state-of-the-art research. And you can still be a minority student and have friends from different backgrounds. Your Vanderbilt experience is what YOU make it to be.